Bido Lito! is a monthly magazine for and about Merseyside’s thriving creative community.
We’re all about the here and now – the musicians, artists, makers and creative minds that make the region’s independent scene stronger than it’s ever been.

LOOKING BACK ON THE KAZIMIER

Almost a year since its final curtain call, we look back on some of THE KAZIMIER’S most memorable moments. A founding member of The Kazimier Collective, the mix of creative folk who made the Kaz what it was, and one half of the bonkers and energetic ‘house band’ Dogshow along with his brother Laurie, Sam Crombie talks us through some of the memories behind the madness of The Kazimier’s eight year reign.

SEUN KUTI

“Joe Wills – hotshot producer (Dan Croll, Stealing Sheep, Mikhael Paskalev) approached us about this show in 2011. I’ve still got no idea how this opportunity came to him, but we were all excited about bringing Seun (who had studied at LIPA) and the original musicians from his father Fela Kuti’s band Egypt 80 back to Liverpool. The show was a demanding one – 12 or so musicians had to be squeezed onto a specially built larger stage with backing dancers, esoteric amplifiers, rare microphones etc… all big costs. Along with help from Mike Deane, other friends and ourselves, Joe managed to pull this gig off and it was incredible. Pure energy. I remember Seun Kuti’s sound engineer getting so stoned before the show he was lying down on a couch mixing the show with no view of the band, he was happy. “

LES SAVY FAV

“The club was perfect for bands like this. Fucked Up, Action Bronson, Sound of Guns, and countless others saw the club as a playground to explore – hanging, climbing, dangling, diving (olympic high-diving in Sound of Guns case). It was a miracle that so few people were hurt in the process but it made for a venue where the stage was so immersed within the crowd, bands and audiences could become one, tumbling around on-top of each other.”

ABSINTHE BAR

“We went on a ‘field-trip’ to Krakow in Poland in 2009 and came back inspired and hungover from a three day tour of the underground bars in the ‘Kazimierz’ district (yes, the name does partly derive from there – but there’s slightly more to it). These bars had recycled the vintage and antique remnants of Cold War Eastern Europe and were full of character, atmosphere and history. We built the absinth bar shortly after our return from junk/crap we had gathered over the years.”

FESTEVOL

“Revo (Festevol and Evol CEO) was an integral part to the club’s success. He, along with Ellis (Samizdat) were the first to put their faith in it in 2008, with promoting shows by The XX and Deerhunter/Liars, not a bad way to kick things off. After we embarked on the Kazimier Garden and Rat Alley in 2010 Revo was again one of the early adopters seeing the potential of hosting a mini-festival that would link these spaces together. It worked great, DJs in the Rat Alley sandwiched by bands in the club and garden. Whilst a bulk of the line-up was a showcase of local potential, it was also an opportunity for Revo to show liverpool his scouting talents, bringing the likes of Young Fathers, Wet Nuns (RIP) etc. And a serious party of course.”

DOGSHOW

“Well, for those that don’t know, Dogshow is a band consisting of 2 of the 5 Kazimier founders. 2 brothers, Laurie and Sam Crombie. Dogshow were almost the ‘house band’, playing several shows in the venue – including the very first night and the very last. This photo is from a kind of concept night called ‘Triathlon’ where Dogshow made a special set based on physical endurance. The last song, Laurie played drums standing up on a treadmill that got faster and faster in time with the pace of the music. As we were approaching 180 bpm and almost at the end of the set he slipped, faceplanted the treadmill and ended in a pile at the back of stage – a dramatic finale!”

THIS IS THE TIME

“This was the recording of a Christmas single by a Liverpool super group formed by Laura Brownhill, one of The Kazimier founders. She left us in 2015 to explore other opportunities but we are still good friends and have been through a lot together. This group featured an incredible cast of musicians from bands that have been involved in The Kazimier over the years, a huge family. Laura recently hosted a small festival so we’re excited to see what she gets up to in the future.”

ESCAPE TO PLANET KRONOS

“The last night of The Kazimier – Escape to Planet Kronos NYE 2015. Perhaps the most momentous, traumatic and ambitious event of our time in Liverpool city centre. Whilst the rest of Liverpool sees Boxing Night as the big festive night, we’ve always been interested in New Years Eve, its significance in the cycle of time and the power the occasion has to build anticipation and excitement. So since 2008 we began a series called ‘The Kronos’ based around a mythical hero ‘Captain Kronos’ and his time-travelling spacecraft. Being the last night of The Kazimier, we used this as a way of revisiting all our favourite and iconic memories of our time in Wolstenholme Square, through the story of an epic battle – between the forces of Monotopia who had cast their grey shadow (draw whatever parallels you wish) and Captain Kronos. Flying a spaceship across the skyline with a tower crane was the only way we could finish this chapter in our history.”